A Love Like War
by SanguineInscription
Summary: Elena, a woman of rules and regulations, is finding it hard to keep a certain red haired devil out. The closer Reno gets, the more she realises just how much she likes (and needs) him. Sometimes, a drunk kiss is the epiphany to the whole damn situation. And it only get worse.
1. Chapter 1

The stench of coffee was thick in the air and it was quickly inducing a headache. Elena paused to rub her temples to try and ward off the pounding pain that was quickly spreading across her brain. A soft groan left her lips in response to the throbbing that errupted in the front of her skull.

Several long hours of typing reports at her computer with little to no movement was making her itch for an assignment; she'd take field work over paperwork any day. The monotony of typing and staring at a screen was starting to make her wonder what else she could do to put off paperwork for a while.

A frown pulled at her brow and she shook her head at the very thought. That was procrastination and no work could be accomplished. Besides, time wasting was unprofessional and so very Reno.

Elena lifted her gaze from the computer to rest them for a moment, her eyes happening upon the cocky red head. As she thought, he was leaning back in his chair with his legs kicked up on the desk and playing with a stress ball rather than working. His long fingers crushed it into his palm, the yellow bulging out between his fingers.

As if he could feel her eyes on him, he lifted his powder blue eyes to her and a cocky grin spread across his face.

"Admiring the view, 'Laney?" He drawled out her nickname and grinned when he watched her bristle with irritation. She clenched her hand around her pen, her face hardening into what she hoped was a disaproving scowl.

"You should be working."

"I have been. I'm just taking a little break."

"You've already had a break. You took a half hour break less than two hours ago."

"Aw come on 'Lena, lighten up!"

Elena pursed her lips and turned back to her own paperwork. She saw Reno stand up in her peripheral vision and saunter over to her desk where he began to pick things up and examine it before irritatingly placing it down elsewhere.

After the seventh item he deliberately misplaced, she snatched a compact mirror from him and dropped it in her drawer. A laugh left the Second-In-Command as she slammed it shut and he leant forwards over his desk to peer closer at her face. The proximity caught her off guard; it was the closest she had been to him and she was able to closely study his high cheek bones, the intense blue eyes and his prominent collar bones. His voice jerked her from her mini trance and she mentally kicked herself for drifting off. Why was she even day dreaming about his sharp features?

"'Laney! Well?"

"Uh.. what? Sorry, I didn't catch that." Her mumble elicited a smirk across his face and he leant further over her desk to put his face in hers.

"I said, did you want to come to the bar with Rude and I after work, yo?"

"No."

"Think about it, why don't ya?"

"I can't go out drinking, Reno. I'm in combat training first thing tomorrow."

"Live a little! It's more fun if you're there." His comment threw her and her eyes widened a fraction. His smirk widened back into his usual grin and she could see from his eyes that he knew he had her on the hook. He always did have a knack for talking people round to his way. His hand snaked out to touch her on the cheek but he roughly smacked it away.

"Whatever, Reno."

Checking her reflection in the mirror one last time, Elena smoothed down her hair and snatched her bag from the bathroom counter. Exiting the toilet she wrinkled her nose as the cigarette smoke hit her full in the face. She hated the smell and sighed at the thought of having to go home and shower to get the smell off her.

Reno and Rude sat in the furthest corner from the ladies. As she walked across the bar to return to her seat, she could feel Reno's eyes burning into her. From a distance, it almost looked as though he were checking her out. A light blush formed in her cheeks and flattery blossomed in her chest although she shook her head quickly to banish the feeling. He checked out anyone with a pair of tits, why would she be flattered by such a sleazeball?

She sat beside Rude and reached for her diet cola, sipping it primly with her gaze turned as far of Reno as she could possibly go. He was drunk and, in true form, was being a flirty ass with no sense of boundaries.

"Another drink, 'Laney?"

"My name is Elena. And no. I'm going home after this one."

"Already? But 'Lena, it's early!" She rolled her eyes and scowled at him, the Turk slumped on his chair and waggling his eye brows at her. She could've sworn Rude chuckled beside her but it was hard to hear him. The bald Turk sipped his drink, tactfully keeping out of the mini-argument taking place.

"It's eleven thirty, Reno. We have work tomorrow and staying out this late is just irresponsible. Not to mention unprofessional."

"Oh take that golden rod out of your ass, 'Lena! Life is far to short to be uptight!"

"I am NOT uptight, thank you very much. I simply value my job AND my life. A hangover or going into work still drunk could potentially be a very fatal mistake!"

Reno opened his mouth to argue back, slightly irritated that she seemed to be doing everything she could to ruin the mood but Rude coughed and held his hand up in a passive gesture to silence the two. Elena grumbled under her breath and leant back in her seat, her gaze falling to the drink in her hand to watch the bubbles break from the bottome of the glass and twirl to the surface where they joined the air with a quiet hiss.

For a long while, the three of them fell into a half awkward silence. Elena was fuming in her own indignation that Reno would push her to break the limits she was comfortable with and have the audacity to get irritated with her while Reno was miffed that she was sitting there with a golden pole of self-righetousness wedged up her backside.

The blonde averted her gaze from her glass to the bar around them. Business appeared to be booming and Tifa Lockhart was yo-yoing from one end of the bar to the next to serve the alcohol hungry patrons. The woman had once been an enemy of ShinRa, a terrorist with Avalanche. But there was very little bad blood between them after everything that had transpired and now they were wary aquaintances. Tifa allowed them to drink in her bar; they were paying customers after all. Lately, they had become quite friendly with the barmaid and things had been far less awkward between them.

A cough beside her drew the Turk's attention back to Rude who was holding his hand out for her glass and although he didn't speak, Elena understood the gesture as Rude asking her if she wanted another round. She glanced at the red haired Turk who had slumped sideways and was examining the end of his shoelaces with a perplexed expression splashed across his face. She hated giving into him and giving his ego yet another boost, but she figured he was so drunk that he wouldn't remember it in the morning.

"Just one, please. Coke and a _small_ shot of vodka." She kept her voice low lest Reno heard it and started taunting her, and she could've sworn she saw Rude's lips twitch up into a smile before he turned away. Reno straightened up and leant forwards, his elbows braced on the table keeping him upright.

His gaze was cast over at a group of young adults who were kicking up a fair amount of noise, his moment of quiet calm giving Elena enough time to study his face in the dim light of the bar.

His high cheekbones were made even more prominent by the tattoo's under his eyes, making them all the more prominent and striking. His eyes were always intense, but with alcohol in him they seemed to burn with such a fierceness that Elena wondered just what went on in that head of his. He acted the jester and fooled around with his work but she was very aware of just how intelligent he was. While he appeared stupid and slow, he was an impressive fighter and was so quick it was hard to land a hit on him. He was excellent with the chopper's (his specialty) and interrogation. Elena wondered why he kept up such a facade.

His jaw was strong and well defined, his lips looking soft and full with the shadows underneath and his hair was as ruffled and unkepmt as usual. For a split second, Elena couldn't help but notice just how _good looking_ Reno was. She shook her head violently and dragged her gaze to the table, the motion catching Reno's attention for a moment before he looked back to the youths.

_Stop it Elena! Good looking, how foolish. _She inwardly chasticed herself and sighed gently, checking the clock on the wall for the time. It was twenty five to midnight; she sure would suffer the next morning.

Rude returned and set their drinks in front of them. Elena's drink looked like coke and from the roll of Reno's eyes, she knew he had no idea she'd given in. In her head she fist pumped, mostly out of spite that she had gotten one over on Reno.

The next hour passed in much the same fashion; Reno and Elena bickered, Rude silenced them and they drank. Eventually Elena announced she would be retiring and stood to end her night. To her surprise, Reno stood and informed her that he would be walking her home. The look of sheer determination in his eyes stopped her arguing back; nothing could stop him when he wore that expression.

Instead of arguing, she wrinkled her nose to show her disdain, said her goodbyes to Rude who wanted to hang back and help Tifa close up, and walked out. Reno sauntered after her with his hands thrust in his pockets. He easily kept up with her, even blinding drunk. She figured the night air must've sobered him up.

"I'll never get bored of looking at the stars." A look over at him found him with his head thrown back, eyes fixed on the sky. Glancing up herself, Elena allowed herself to drink in the sight of the starry night sky. Ebony stretched out as far as the eye could see, a black blanket speckled with the twinkling constelations of stars, "It sure beats all that darkness."

"It sure does. The whole world looks different without all that pollution."

Reno flung his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side. For just a small moment, Elena allowed herself to relish the feel of his arm slung around her and his body pressed to hers before she flung him off again. He simply chuckled and continued to walk beside her as cheerful as ever.

Upon reaching her appartment complex, she stopped awkwardly at the end of the long path that lead to the main door and turned to her colleague. She hoped he'd just wave her off and continue on his way; she didn't know how to politely tell him that there was no way in hell that he was getting through her front door.

His hand suddenly snaked out and settled on her cheek, her skin blazing where his touched her. As her hand raised to smack his away, his lips found hers and his other arm wound behind her to firmly draw her body to his. Shock froze her body, rooting her to the spot and seeing her hand freezing in midair while his hand brush back from her cheek to entangle in her hair and pull her head closer. Her mind whirled and a thousand thoughts and emotions seemed to surge forwards at once.

_Why is he kissing me?! Why haven't I hit him yet?! Do I like it?! Does he like it?! Does he even know what he's doing?! Why do I like this?! Do I like him?! Of course not.. shut up Elena, this is Reno! Get him off you girl!_

Her hand finally regained it's motor ability and grabbed his wrist, tearing his hand from her face. Her other jabbed towards his gut and punched him hard enough to double over with a groan of agony. Releasing his hand, she curled her own into a fist and swung, punching him in the side of the face.

"What the HELL are you playing at?!" She hissed, anger rippling through her body until she was trembling. She was mostly angry at herself for liking it at all.

"Goddess 'Laney... You have some right hook on you."

"Go home, Reno. You're drunk out of your mind."

Her rage flared up when he winked at her and ruffled her hair, dodging her third punch of the night. For a moment she watched as he walked away, half making sure he didn't dart back to try anything again and half wanting to watch his lanky body saunter down the street while mentally kicking herself for entertaining the idea of fancying the man.

The last thing she heard as she walked through the main doors of her appartment complex was the laugh of Reno, Second-In-Command of the Turks.


	2. Chapter 2

The shrill beeping of the alarm ripped Elena from her sleep. The room was still dark and her bed cradled her life a soft cucoon. Sleep still lingered close, but the snooze option screeched it further away. With great reluctance, she finally sat up and let her duvet fall away from her top half. The coldness of the morning immediately wrapped around her and sank into her torso to rip the sleep away from her with its icy fingers.

A sigh left her lips and she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. It was rare that she found herself unable to wake up for work, and it was unheard of that she'd rather sleep in than go for training with Tseng. And it was Reno's fault.

The memories of the previous night came flooding back to her. The one thing that whirled round and round her head was the kiss. The way his skin set her on fire when they touched. The way his smell made her head spin. Most of all, the feeling of disapointment when she had broken the kiss. It concerned her. Not only was Reno her superior, he was a jerk. Known for sleeping with a different woman every night he went out, he'd earnt the title of Lothario. And he seemed quite proud.

She didn't want to be just another notch in his bed post. And that was another thing; just WHY did she consider Reno to be "boyfriend" material? He was more of a one night stand kind of guy. And Elena certainly wasn't a one night stand kind of girl.

Shaking her head in frustration, she switched on her bedroom light and quickly changed from her pyjama's into her Turk uniform. After quickly running a comb through her short blonde hair, she was interupted by the urgent tone her phone signaling she had a message.

"Training is off this morning. Report to my office as soon as possible."

A shudder ran down her spine. Tseng hadn't elaborated, but she knew him well enough to know that something was wrong.

Tseng, the leader of the Turks, wasn't known for giving anything away. Stoic and unreadable, he was a constant mask of professionalism. Everything Elena aspired to be. Only once had his mask cracked, and that had been under severe torture at the hands of the Remnants. Since then, he seemed to be even more determined to keep everything locked down under an unreadable mask.

Before leaving to head into "New" ShinRa, she quickly brewed a fresh cup of coffee and poured it into a travel mug to drink on the way in. The cold, crisp air of winter bit at her cheeks and nose, working its way into her suit. Her car was parked in the car park designated to the apartment complex. She always parked in the furthest corner and no other cars parked next to hers. People still didn't trust the Turks. Since it was early morning, the roads are all empty. The drive to work was quick and uneventful.

To her surprise, Reno was already in the office and sitting in front of Tseng's desk. Rude was the only one they were waiting for. Tseng was the perfect image of calm, giving her a nod when she entered. Reno's face split into a grin and she knew he was thinking about their kiss the night before.

She sat in one of the two spare seats in front of Tseng's desk. Choosing the one furthest from the lanky red head, she angled her body away from him and primly sipped her coffee from her travel mug. Reno simply chuckled and slouched back in his seat. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Rude entered.

"Good. Now we can begin." Tseng turned his computer screen around for the three of his colleagues to see. Upon the screen was a picture of a horrifically mutilated body. It was hard to make out the gender of the corpse. Blood covered every inch of the picture, the body and scene around it dripping in the stuff.

"Who is that?!" Reno broke the silence first but neither of her colleagues seemed even disturbed by the sight before them. Then again, they had caused worse. Sensitivity was lost to them the minute they were officially confirmed a Turk.

"Lesley Cruz."

"The secretary?!"

"Correct. She was found this morning by her daughter. Her body is currently in autopsy but the temperature suggests she was killed last night, around one o clock this morning. She wasn't the only one. Nine others were found in a similar state by friends or relatives this morning. I've sent SOLDIER Thirds to the scene's because I need you elsewhere."

Tseng turned his computer screen back around and handed each of them a file. The second Elena took hers, she flicked it open and read through. It was obvious that Tseng had quickly thrown it together but she was impressed at how Professional it was.

Inside was a photocopy of a note that had been left behind in Lesley's house. It was poorly written and filled with incoherent scibbles. One line of it was legible, and it was a bitter threat, highlighting that the ten deaths were the start of SinRa's fall.

Ten pictures followed, and all the other bodies were the same bloody mess as Lesley's. All of them had been killed at roughly the same time, which meant there was at least ten people put there who were determined.

"We have a situation. Ten of our most senior employee's have been brutally murdered and the same threat was written in blood at each crime scene. 'ShinRa will fall'. Strife and his comrades have been accounted for and all have alibi's that check out. Which means there is a new threat out there."

"I don't understand, though. ShinRa has changed; we're trying to rebuild ourselves for the better!" Elena protested. Since the Remnant's, Rufus had made a conscious effort to improve the image of his company. The Turks still dealt with shady goings on, but those goings on remained strictly private. The rest of the Company improved. The Scientific Department even dealt with finding solutions to help rebuild the Planet and clean up the mess they had caused.

"True. And while most people celebrate our change of heart and are willing to let bygones be bygones, but some can't let go of the past. It seems that this group is part of the latter."

"So.. what is our next move?" Reno asked, throwing his feet up on Tseng's desk. Without even looking, Tseng knocked them back off and sorted through the case file that sat on the desk in front of him.

"Well, so far, there is no evidence. Whoever did this knew what they were doing. Hopefully, the SOLDIER's will find something."

"We have absolutely nothing to go on?"

"So far, no. For now, we have to hope that something can be found. Otherwise, it's just a case of waiting."

Nothing solid had been found at any of the crime scenes or on the bodies. The Turks had continued their usual work and security had been raised. Elena had made a conscious effort to avoid Reno at all costs.

Their fist break came when a letter arrived addressed to Rufus. This one was much more coherent and was filled with alarming threats and seemed to single out certain employee's as targets.

Sure enough, those six emloyee's had been found dead in their homes, the same as the previous ten. The envelope the letter the envelope had been sent in the normal fashion, and bore a Nibelheim stamp. Tseng had wasted no time in having the letter and envelope meticulously examined, and sent Elena, Reno and Rude to the sleepy little village.

Elena glanced around at the rebuilt village, catching a few glares from the local residents. ShinRa had a bad reputation, especially in Nibelheim. The old SinRa mansion was situated of the outskirts, and all manor of horrific experiments and such had taken place in there. As well as housing a reactor which was teeming with the unfortunate souls of Hojo's experiments, the village had suffered at the hands of Sephiroth's initial descent into insanity. He had slaughtered a great number of the innocent residents and burnt their homes to the ground. Understandably, they had never forgiven ShinRa.

"It could be anyone here, yo." Reno muttered, "All of them hate us."

"We can't just go around asking questions."

"Relax, 'Lena. We'll start at the Post Office and see where that takes us." The Second-In-Command shot her his usual lazy smirk before sauntering off in the direction of the Post Office. It was impossible to tell what Rude was thinking, his eyes hidden behind sunglasses which just reflected her irritated face. She gave a huff and hurried after him, not catching Rude's smirk.

The Post Office was quiet, run by a single elderly woman behind the counter. She was knitting to pass the time, her glasses sitting on the end of her nose. Her wrinkled face broke into a smile when she heard the bell over the door chime to signal customers. One look at the trio in their suits was enough to tell her who was standing before her. Her jaw set and her eyes narrowed. She had lost her dear husband when Sephiroth had burned the village down, and she would never forgive them for it.

"We're closed." She snapped, turning her gaze to her knitting and refusing to even look at them.

"We just need to ask a few questions." Elena recognised the voice Reno used immediately. He used it to placate and soothe people, usually wrapping them around his finger.

"I'm not giving you lapdogs anything."

Reno smiled calmly and approached the counter. He plucked the envelope from inside his suit and held it up for the woman to see. Elena found herself admiring the way Reno's silky pony tail cascaded down his back and came to rest just above his-

She violently shook her head before the thoughts could go any further and clenched her hand into a fist. WHY had these "feelings" suddenly risen and where had they come from? And why, of all places, had they reared up and punched her in the gut now?

"Well... I suppose... His name is John Wilds. He lives just across, that little house you can see through the window. Such a sweet boy. He lost both his parents in the Incident. I used to cook dinner for him, you know. He loved my Toad In The Hole Special. See, I just put a dash of oregano in the batter and-"

"Thank you for your help, Ms. You may have just saved innocent lives." Elena interupted. Reno shot her a grateful look and the woman smiled, decidedly more friendly after Reno's smooth talking. The old woman offered them tea before they left, deciding to view them as three young people, strained and shoved into a dangerous job.

They politely declined and made a hasty exit, crossing the small circle of buildings to the house the old woman had pointed out to them. Elena knocked, stepping back to wait for the young man in question answered the door. After an extended silence and no answer, Rude slipped round the back to investigate.

"So... Laney. We gonna talk about last night?" Suddenly, Reno was pressed against her back, his lips right by herbear.

"Talk about what? You getting steaming drunk or sexually harassing me?"

"I mean the kiss. You enjoyed it." His hand bound around her, feathering backwards across her cheek and into her hair. She viciously jerked her elbow back into his stomach, the blow drawing a grunt from the red head. His hand slipped away and he stepped back, rubbing his stomach.

"In your dreams."

"I don't need to dream to read a woman."

Elena opened her mouth to snap back but before she could, the door suddenlynswung open. Rude beckoned them in, his face grim. The two Turks guessed what had happened from his face.

He lead them through to the living room where an adolescent male was slumped on the couch. His throat had been savagely slashed, his blood splattered across almost every surface of the room. His eyes were open into an expression of terror, his mouth opened into a silent scream. His hands rested upon his lifeless chest, as though he had desperately tried to stem the flow of blood.

"He never saw it coming." Elena's voice was soft, her chocolate eyes filled with sorrow and mourning for the orphan boy, "He was never a partbof this."

"They must've used him to deliver the letter, then killed him to tie up loose ends." Reno used a pen to pull on the boys pockets to see if anything was inside, "I'll call this in to Tseng. You two take a look around and see what you can find. Elena, try his room."

She nodded and turned herself away from the body, making her ascent up the stairs. With her back turned, she missed the lingering stare Reno sent in her direction.


End file.
